Sept. 30, 1999

In Major League Baseball, New York Yankee great Lou Gehrig passed his "Iron Horse" distinction to Baltimore's Cal Ripkin four seasons ago, as Ripkin broke Gehrig's consecutive games played streak of 2,130. The Villanova football team has its own "Iron Horse" who answers to the name of Shaun Lyons. One element, other than winning, that has remained a constant over the past few seasons for the Wildcats has been Lyons at the linebacker position. Standing at 6-1, this tenacious competitor has helped anchor the Villanova defense as a starting linebacker for 34 straight games. In the midst of his senior season on the Main Line in 1999, Lyons hopes to end his Wildcat career on top - by helping Villanova claim its second Atlantic 10 Championship ring in three seasons.

Lyons has played football since his fourth grade Pop Warner days in Altamont, N.Y. At that time, he almost gave up football because he was big for his age and had to play on a team with mostly older children. It is a good thing for the Wildcats that he didn't. Instead, he let his mother do the talking.

"I wanted to quit at first," said Lyons. "I was always heavier than most kids my age, and I had to play on teams with the older guys. My mom convinced me to keep playing because she thought it was best for me. She was right."

Attending Guiderland High School, Lyons started at linebacker for two seasons under head coach Dennis Slattery. As a junior, he earned All-State honors at tight end and added All-State accolades at linebacker one year later as a senior. Lyons led Guiderland in every defensive category for three straight seasons with the exception of interceptions as a sophomore and junior.

Rather than follow his brother Ray to the University of New Hampshire, Lyons chose to head south to Villanova University. Villanova made it clear from the start that he was number one on the team's list, so it didn't take Lyons long to let the Wildcats know that they were number one on his.

"I always knew I would play college ball," said Lyons. "I always expected to play. It was just a matter of where. My decision came down to the fact that I wanted to stay in this league because I knew it was great competition. Villanova treated me with the highest respect right from the start, so I knew this was the place for me."

Lyons' freshman season was a learning experience, as he was asked to make the move to strong side linebacker. After the Wildcats' fifth game, he was thrust into the starting lineup in place of the injured Jason Gattuso. Lyons was outstanding from the start, as he was named Yankee Conference Rookie of the Week on Oct. 27 after a 13-tackle, one-sack performance in only his second career start against Richmond. He finished the season leading the team in sacks with seven, and placing fourth on the team with 70 tackles.

"With the move to strong-side linebacker, I got to blitz a lot more," said Lyons. "When I got here, I had to play catch up with the older guys. They had the experience on me, so I had to work harder in other ways."

One year later as a sophomore, Lyons made the leap back to weak-side linebacker. With one season of experience now under his belt, he was nearly unstoppable for opponents. Lyons recorded six tackles for a loss, and six sacks as a sophomore. In addition, he led the Atlantic 10 Champion Wildcats in tackles, increasing his total from one year earlier to 113. Villanova tallied its first ever undefeated, untied full regular season in 1997 and behind all the `Cats success on the defensive side of the ball was Lyons. For his efforts, he was named to the All-Atlantic 10 third team.

"Having an undefeated regular season was unbelievable," said Lyons. "You don't realize how much you have until you lose it. When we lost to Youngstown State (in the second round of the playoffs), it made me realize how much I wanted a title and how much more I want it now."

Last season, Lyons started in every game for Villanova for the second straight season. It was also the second consecutive season in which he led the Wildcats in tackles with 104, in addition to tallying seven tackles for a loss. Despite being named to the All-Atlantic 10 third team yet again, Lyons was not satisfied with the team's 6-5 record.

"Sure I want to be respected in the league," said Lyons. "But I don't think it's good enough. I wanted to be better than third team all-league and I wanted the team to be better than 6-5. More important than getting the respect of the league though, is having the respect of my coaches and fellow players. All the honors in the world don't mean anything until you have a ring on your finger."

Three games through his senior season on the Main Line, Lyons' consecutive streak of starts goes on. Like every player, he hopes the hard work, long days and bumps and bruises translate into success on the field for the Wildcats. Lyons won't leave anything on the field, because he knows that once this season is over, there is no going back.

"I want no regrets in my senior year," said Lyons. "I never think about how many straight games I've played, or about getting injured. I just never want to come off the field. I am always going to play every play like it's my last. This team has everything right out there in front of us. It's our job to go out and grab it."

Just as he credits his mother for getting him to stick with football so many years ago, Lyons also credits his older brother Ray for pushing him to stay at the top of his game. Ray Lyons graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 1996. During his playing days at UNH, he reached All-Conference first team status and helped lead the Wildcats to two conference titles.

"My brother and I are really close," said Lyons. "He always talks about how when he was at New Hampshire he got two championships rings?and how I only have one. I want that second ring. I don't know if he is competitive with me, but I am competitive with him. He has always pushed me and helped me to want to become a better player."

Lyons' football resume includes two years of All-Atlantic 10 Conference third team honors, two seasons as the Wildcats' leader in tackles, 34 straight starts at linebacker and 1999 Villanova tri-captain status. None of these accolades, however, can measure up to the feeling of striving for victory out there on the field with his teammates and friends for life.

"This is an emotional, aggressive game," said Lyons. "The friends you make here are your friends for life. But once you get out on the football field, you can forget all about school and all about your problems. Once that ball snaps it's all over?it's just you trying to get to whoever has the ball."